In the comedy genre of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and
"To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar," this whimsical
farce revolves around two convicts - Jeremy Northam ("The Winslow
Boy," "An Ideal Husband") and Steve Zahn ("Out of Sight") - who escape
from a chain-gang and steal a Winnebago, only to discover that its
rightful owners are two gay guys who travel around the country
producing children's beauty pageants. Their only hope of evading the
law is to assume these new identities, which is immediately funny
since neither crook is exactly in touch with his feminine side. When
they arrive in Happy, Texas, Zahn's job is to coach the pre-teen
contestants for the Little Miss Squeezed Pageant - to the delight of
supervisor Illeana Douglas - while Northam handles the business end.
Their plan is to pocket the contractual $1,000 fee and scram quickly -
after robbing the local bank. Only it's not that easy. Beautiful
banker Ally Walker (TV's "Profiler") is attracted to Northam - and he
to her - but the only way he can be with her and maintain the charade
is to pretend to be her sympathetic confidante. And Northam's in for
an even bigger surprise when the tormented sheriff - that's William
H. Macy - has a hankering for him at a gay cowboy bar. Screenwriters
Ed Stone, Phil Reeves and writer/director Mark Illsley were obviously
inspired by Billy Wilder's "Some Like It Hot" since there are many
similarities. Curiously, in this era of Jon-Benet Ramsey's murder,
the jibes are gentle; somewhere, somehow there's irony buried in
juvenile beauty pageants that's yet to be unearthed. On the Granger
Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Happy, Texas" is a snappy, screwball 6. And
if you like this, rent the video "Waiting for Guffman," which is even
funnier.